[ the feeling ]

I was awaken with a smile on my face today as the dream the night before began to slowly permeate my mind. And my heart quickly became warm with joy. My dream took place in Africa, in my classroom. The children were gone for the day except for a few who were reading with each other. It was the end of the first day of school and I was calling my mother to let her know I was fine (mothers are always uneasy, especially when you are thousands of miles away!). Even though nothing major happened in the dream, the feeling was beyond comparable. The feeling of being home, of having a heart that is whole and complete, was something that I could never describe. An immense joy and peace was in my heart and soul.

I am and will be forever grateful for the calling that the Lord has given me to Africa. I pray that you as well have a feeling inside your heart that is incomparable to anything, because of the calling He has given you. And if you do not know God's calling yet, be patient! He will give this to you at the right timing. As Dori says in 'Finding Nemo' "Just keeping swimming...just keep swimming..."

When it comes to finding an organization, my life is up in the air in that direction. I do believe God is telling me that same thing I am telling you, "Just be patient!" He has opened a few more doors when it comes to finding the right mission organization to go with, but I believe He wants me to wait. I am not sure why, but I will just do it and not ask questions! All I know, God has an amazing plan for me JUST like He has an amazing plan for you! :) Never forget that!

[ the search begins ]

As summer comes to an end, the school year begins! Trying to find the time for fundraisors is quite difficult in between full-time graduate classes, student teaching, and substitute teaching for a few extra dollars. Thankfully, a few more people seem to be interested in Open Door Ministries and God's journey He is taking me on in the future so the hard work pays off!

Harvest Baptist Church's Jr. Church hosted a "Penny Challenge" in which each grade level from preschool to fourth grade competed to see who could bring in the most change. The fourth graders wiped out all the other grades by hundreds of dollars! The Jr. church brought in a grand total of $763.62! Boy, what a NUMBER. I about fell over when I read the grand total. Thank you Jr. Church for your hard work and dedication. (left: 4th grader Victoria)

In addition to the Penny Challenge, Harvest Baptist has been collecting pop cans over the past month. Pepsi cans, Mountain Dew cans, Sunkist cans, I receieved them all of every kind! The church collected over 35 bags of pop cans! Thank you Harvest Baptist for your donation! When the aluminum prices go up, I hope to turn them in! As I become more knowledgeable in support raising, I am learning that every penny counts!

As the year comes close to its end, I am becoming more and more nervous on making sure I find an actual place to go! Without a doubt I know the Lord is leading me to Nairobi, Kenya for my beginning ministry work as a missionary. So the search for applying to christian organizations that help cover missionaries. There are hundreds, even thousands of organizations that missionaries can apply to. These organizations usually take care of airplane tickets, health insurance, financial organization, and placement direction. Although, missionaries themselves could manage to do all this themselves but it is an immense amount of work and time. And time is of the essence! Please pray for me in my search for the correct organization. Currently, I have narrowed it down to a few. I hope to have this accomplished by the end of the year.

Thank you again for all of your prayer and support as the Lord molds my vision into His vision. May all the glory go to our Great God!